SAN RAMON — Police are warning users of the San Ramon stretch of the Iron Horse Trail to be cautious after investigators tied two attacks on women in the area to the same man.

Neither of the two San Ramon women were seriously hurt in the attacks, which occurred within a mile of each other in the evening hours and about a month apart, with the most recent occurring just over a week ago, Detective Rich Persson said.

Both women told police they were walking along the trail when a man grabbed them from behind and started hitting them in the face. Both women broke free and scared off their attacker by screaming and yelling for help.

“They both did the right thing,” Persson said. “They both made noise and screamed and were able to run and get help immediately.”

Persson said the similar locations and methods of attack have led police to believe that the assailant may have been targeting women walking along the trail at night.

Police said the first attack on Oct. 17 involved a 27-year-old woman and occurred around 7:15 p.m. on the Iron Horse Trail about 150 feet north of Montevideo Drive.

The second attack involved a 45-year-old woman and occurred Nov. 20 around 6:15 p.m., near where the San Ramon Cross Valley Trail intersects with the Iron Horse Trail, about 200 yards from Broadmoor Drive.

Persson said neither attack appears to have been motivated by sexual assault or robbery.

The assailant was described by the victims as a white or Latino male in his 20s, about 5-foot-6 with a medium build, dark complexion and short black hair.

In the October incident, he was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and baggy pants. In the November attack, he was wearing a striped short-sleeved shirt.

Persson said the women have little in common and are of different ethnicities, but declined to release further details about them.

He said police decided to reveal the link between the attacks to allow residents and trail users to be on the lookout for the attacker and to be mindful of their own safety.

“This is a reminder to be aware of your surroundings,” Persson said. “If you’re walking in the evening, it’s secluded and dangerous no matter where you’re at.”

Notices have been sent out to neighboring law enforcement agencies and patrols in the area have been increased, he said.

San Ramon police ask anyone with information about the attacks to call Detective Persson at 925-973-3309.

Robert Salonga is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter covering crime and public safety for The Mercury News. A San Jose native, he attended UCLA and has a Master's degree in journalism from the University of Maryland. He previously reported in Washington, D.C., Salinas and the East Bay, and is a middling triathlete. Reach him the low-tech way at 408-920-5002.

(Click here if you are unable to view this photo gallery on your mobile device) The Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek celebrates the life of its founder Ruth Bancroft who died at 109 on November 26, 2017. The Ruth Bancroft Garden is a nonprofit public dry garden that was planted by Mrs. Ruth Bancroft in 1972 and was opened to the...